Nenagh CBS journey comes to a sickening end with last gasp point ending Croke Park dream

Masita GAA Post Primary Schools Croke Cup Semi-Final

Nenagh CBS 3-13

St. Raphael’s College, Loughrea 1-20

Nenagh CBS finally ran out of that stroke of luck as they fell heartbreakingly at the Croke Cup semi-final stage to a late Cullen Killeen point in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.

Nenagh made life difficult for themselves in the first half when they played with the huge breeze in Tulla and struggled early to convert it on the scoreboard but they did manage to take a six-point lead in at the break despite playing poorly.

The effort went up considerably in the second half and playing in the face of the breeze and Loughrea pulling the game level by the 44th minute, Nenagh managed to get into a winning position going into injury time as they led 3-13 to 1-16 thanks to frees from Darragh McCarthy.

However, Nenagh left too many golden chances to beef out that lead which could have secured the place in the final, but the six minutes of allotted added time - along with two more minutes played thereafter - saw Loughrea hit the final three points including the winner from the aforementioned Cullen to break Nenagh’s resolution.

Indeed, Darragh McCarthy had a golden chance to send Nenagh over the precipice in the third minute of added time when Joe O’Dwyer gave a sublime pass the the sharpshooter to send him in on goal and his effort was brilliantly saved by Shane Murray. After this chance, you just felt that Loughrea would get their chance; which is how it transpired as they now face St. Kieran’s College in the All-Ireland Final.

Despite starting the game against the gale present in east Clare, Loughrea came out of the blocks and they looked unfazed in the face of the conditions starting well with Cullen Killeen hitting two quick points from play in the first three minutes.

The Galway men looked sharp but Nenagh got a huge fillip just a minute later with their first shot at goal in anger ending up in the back of the net; Aodhan O’Connor cutting in on goal and his mis-hit shot at goals scurried across the goalmouth and Danny Quinn pounced the lash home.

That goal was a short-lived boost as Loughrea canceled it out almost immediately when Bobby Feeney finished a lovely attack that was well set up by Vince Morgan who flashed a hand pass over the top for his teammate to finish past Simon Grace.

Loughrea would have been delighted with their start as they were tied 1-3 apiece with their opponents by the ninth minute with Jack Hackett, Zac Keller, and Darragh McCarthy (free) getting Nenagh’s first three points in that period, but Loughrea looked way more threatening going forward with Paddy Mac Cárthaigh getting the first of his seven points from play in that time.

Darragh McCarthy was being man-marked by Gavin Maher from the throw-in to good effect but the Toomevara man did find the target with his first from play in the 13th minute just after another free to put Nenagh ahead by two points.

All the play was going one direction though as Nenagh were far too open which started from the attack - Loughrea being allowed to take short puck outs - and this allowed them to get their running game into gear and the next three points in a row were all worked from the back through hands with Eoghan Mulleady, Paddy and Diarmuid Mac Cárthaigh all putting finishing touches to moves to re-take the lead.

It can’t be understated how strong the breeze was in Tulla last Saturday, with Simon Grace’s puck outs hitting the full forward line for Nenagh early on and it bore fruit in the 19th minute as Nenagh struck for their second goal.

Eoghan Doughan with his first full touch of the half set Aodhan O’Connor loose in behind after picking up the break and the Nenagh Éire Óg club man finished smartly to give his team a timely boost as they struggled to get their game in order; Nenagh leading 2-5 to 1-6.

Worth at least seven or eight points, Nenagh were wasting the advantage of the wind as Loughrea were easing into their short, running game but Nenagh were also creating their own problems with the first touch and use of the ball just not there in the first half.

Despite that, Nenagh did manage to get the scores they needed in the final ten minutes of the half with two Darragh McCarthy frees extending the lead before a McCarthy sideline in the 27th minute was batted out by Shane Murray and Aodhan O’Connor pounced for his second as he lashed the dropping ball to the net - a badly needed major for the CBS who led 3-8 to 1-8 at the interval.

That six-point advantage was still fairly precarious given that Loughrea had the breeze in the second half and they had gone a fair way about wiping out the half-time deficit within five minutes of the restart as Bobby Feeney, Eoghan Mulleady, Luke McInerney, and the outstanding Paddy Mac Cárthaigh hit the target for the College.

Nenagh were taking on real water now as their half-time game plan was surely out the window straight away and it took 11 minutes for Nenagh to score as Darragh McCarthy (free) ended that Loughrea purple patch.

However, Loughrea were exuding confidence in their play now and continued to punish sloppy Nenagh play with further scores from Vince Morgan, Donnacha Campbell, and another from the unmanageable Paddy Mac Cárthaigh leveling the game in the 44th minute.

You would have gotten good odds on Nenagh making this game close coming down the line given the way the play was going but the introduction of fresh legs steadied them well in the next few minutes with Brian O’Meara and Darragh Treacy impressing as they upped the intensity and eeked out scorable frees for Darragh McCarthy to take advantage of - the Toome’ man slotting three in a row in the next ten minutes as they CBS looked like they had steadied the ship.

Going into the red on the clock, Nenagh maintained their three-point lead but with six minutes of added time confirmed, there was still life in Loughrea and they had Shane Murray to thank that they were still in the game in the 63rd minute as he denied Darragh McCarthy at point blank range and after that, they hit the final four scores as Nenagh succumbed late on as Brian O’Meara was given a red in his frustration in that time to compound matters.

Nenagh had so many chances in the final ten minutes to extend the lead and give themselves a bit more of a cushion but contrived to take the wrong option and it kept Loughrea in touch which ultimately proved to be the CBS’ undoing.

The devastation was etched across the faces of the Nenagh players faces and while this loss will be raw for the next few weeks, they will ultimately be able to look back on their year with immense pride.

Scorers: Nenagh CBS: Darragh McCarthy (0-11, 0-9f, 0-1 65), Aodhan O’Connor 2-0, Danny Quinn 1-0, Jake Hackett, Zac Keller 0-1 each.

St. Raphael’s College, Loughrea: Paddy Mac Cárthaigh 0-7, Bobby Feeney (1-3, 0-2f), Cullen Killeen 0-3, Eoghan Mulleady, Vince Morgan 0-2 each, Diarmuid Mac Cárthaigh, Luke McInerney, Donnacha Campbell all 0-1 each.

Nenagh CBS: Simon Grace (Ballina); Conor Grace (Burgess), Cian Connolly (Nenagh Éire Óg), Gavin McGrath (Kiladangan); Jack Doran (Toomevara), Jake Hackett (Toomevara), Andy Hoolan (Moneygall); Ciaran Foley (Borrisokane), Darragh McCarthy (Toomevara); Jack Mulcahy (Kilruane MacDonaghs), Mason Cawley (Nenagh Éire Óg), Zac Keller (Nenagh Éire Óg); Aodhan O’Connor (Nenagh Éire Óg), Danny Quinn (Silvermines), Eoghan Doughan (Moneygall).

Subs used: Austin Duff (Toomevara) for Mulcahy (27); Joe O’Dwyer (Burgess) for Keller (42); Darragh Treacy (Silvermines) for Duff (48, inj); Brian O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs) for Doran (48).

St. Raphael’s College, Loughrea: Shane Murray (Kilconieron); Jason Griffin (Loughrea), Daniel Keane (Kilconieron), Gavin Maher (Loughrea); Oscar O’Gorman (Kilconieron), Diarmuid Mac Cárthaigh (Sarsfields), Finn Beirne (Loughrea); Luke McInerney (Loughrea), Cullen Killeen (Loughrea); Donnacha Campbell (Cappataggle), Paddy Mac Cárthaigh (Sarsfields), Eoghan Mulleady (Kilconieron); Vince Morgan (Loughrea), Thomas Stratford (Sarsfields), Bobby Feeney (Loughrea).

Subs used: Stephen Keane (Kilconieron) for Stratford (41); Jack Shaughnessy (Loughrea) for Beirne (59).

Referee: Eamonn Stapleton (Limerick)